Directions:
Melt the butter in a saucepan that has a lid. Saute the pasta, rice, garlic and shallot until the pasta starts to brown. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork.

My thoughts:

For this recipe, I did something I normally don't do; I made a homemade version of a food that has never been anything but a commercially made, shelf stable product. While the San Francisco treat can be oddly comforting and certainly quick to make, it is also on the salty and bland side. Making it at home is just as quick but much more flavorful.

I remember hearing on NPR the story of how Rice-A-Roni came to be. It started with a woman who was an Eastern European immigrant in San Francisco and she sort of improvised on traditional rice pilaf. It was really interesting - you should see if the podcast is still available!

I'm constantly trying to recreate homemade versions of things like rice a roni or flavored rice packets. I get the same or more flavor and I know what's in it. Plus I can make it with brown rice and throw in some pre-cooked barley as well! Yum!

Yeah! We occasionally made the RAR for dinner because it was easy and the kids liked it. Then we found out that my husband has Celiac disease and can't eat wheat...guess what? No more RAR! Now I can make it without the wheat. Thank you very much :)

Yeah! We occasionally made the RAR for dinner because it was easy and the kids liked it. Then we found out that my husband has Celiac disease and can't eat wheat...guess what? No more RAR! Now I can make it without the wheat. Thank you very much :)